The state's expert testified today he thought Reeva had eaten within two hours of her death, which occurred around 3:00 a.m. The defense is challenging the pathologist on the food comment. Why? Oscar said in his bail affidavit they went to sleep around 10:00 p.m. The defense will be calling its own pathology experts to refute the state's expert. Today, on cross-examination, the state's pathologist acknowledged that gastric emptying time can vary from person to person and could vary by an hour or two. While he's certainly a qualified pathologist, apparently he may not be an expert on gastric emptying, which he acknowledged, is not an exact science.
Yesterday and so far today, the live video has been shut down by the Judge due to the sensitive nature of the testimony of the state's pathologist. Yesterday, the judge banned live tweeting and blogging, but today, she reversed herself, saying she hadn't known enough about tweeting and blogging.
The "star" of the trial so far is defense lawyer Barry Roux, who is now being called "the Silver Fox." I've watched enough of the trial to agree with the assessment. Some snippets:
While his performances over the last week have earned him the nickname the Silver Fox, Mr Roux is in fact more like a fellow African native, the Blue Heron, which spreads its wings like a canopy over shallow water. When the fish below swim naively to the surface, thinking they are safe, the Heron swoops.
...he is as persistent and penetrating as a dentist’s drill.
...Mr Roux’s trademark move is to appear slightly befuddled and lost, before going for the jugular with the speed of a cobra. He can use sarcasm and humour, but prefers repetition, asking the witness over and over to explain an earlier answer, before pulling out a transcript to show they had just contradicted themselves.
Roux was just as compelling at the bail hearing.
During Mr Pistorius’s bail application last year Mr Roux took to investigating officer Hilton Botha with such unrelenting venom that a South African journalist likened it to watching a baby seal being clubbed. By the time Mr Botha left the stand he was a gibbering mess....
